[LINK] Company Pays Up after Robot Breaches First Law

[Roger Clarke]

An interesting item appeared in SMH this morning, item here:
https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/compliance-and-prosecutions/enforceable-undertakings/2020-eu-accordion/inghams-enterprises-pty-limited

Inghams Enterprises Pty Limited

On 1 December 2016 a worker at the Ingham’s site located at Prestons, 
NSW, was working in the weigh label room stacking and adjusting pallets 
containing chicken products. The worker was injured as a result of being 
trapped by a [palletising robot] in a robotic cell.

[I've no idea what a 'robotic cell' is, nor why a worker was in it]

[Ingham's sacked the robot, i.e. removed it, forthwith.

Ingham's has undertaken to spend half-a-mill to develop a "safety 
incident reporting portal for Ingham’s WHSMS, specifically designed to 
address Ingham’s agri-business operations. Once developed this portal 
can be accessed via Ingham’s intranet, desktops and on workers’ mobile 
devices so the system can be can used by all workers, sub-contractors, 
and leaders who use the Ingham’s WHSMS onsite, in real-time, at the 
click of a button".

[I've no idea why it took 3-1/4 years from the accident to the signing 
of the undertaking by Ingham's and Safework NSW, but I guess it's progress.]

______________

Alleged breach

Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd contravened section 19(1) and 32 of the Work 
Health and Safety Act 2011.

Summary of undertaking

Activities Inghams Enterprises Pty Ltd will undertake include:

Development and Implementation of an electronic platform for a Work 
Health and Safety Management System designed for use in Ingham’s 
agri-business operations;
An initiative to share the learnings from the incident and the process 
for developing the electronic platform for the Work Health and Safety 
Management System with industry;
Development of a video to promote SafeWork NSW’s Participative 
Ergonomics for Manual Tasks (PErforM) Program; and
Partnering with a creative advertising organisation to develop a public 
awareness campaign regarding musculoskeletal disorders.
This undertaking has a total expenditure of $499,000.

Reasons for accepting the undertaking

The alleged contravention does not appear to be a section 31 Reckless 
conduct category 1 offence, which if it was the case, would preclude the 
proposed undertaking from being accepted
The nature of the alleged contravention and the actions taken by Inghams 
Enterprises Pty Ltd in response to the incident are assessed as being 
appropriate for consideration of an undertaking
The strategies proposed in the undertaking have been assessed as likely 
to deliver long term sustainable safety improvements in the workplace, 
industry and community
The undertaking addresses the requirements contained within the 
“Enforceable Undertakings – Guidelines for Proposing a WHS Undertaking”.
Date accepted

20 April 2020


Details here:
https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/821935/Inghams-Enterprises-Pty-Limited-signed-EU-Proposal_Redacted.pdf


-- 
Roger Clarke                            mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
T: +61 2 6288 6916   http://www.xamax.com.au  http://www.rogerclarke.com

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA 

Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law            University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University